


Pieces

by IJM



Category: General Hospital
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-09-23 05:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17074532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IJM/pseuds/IJM
Summary: A visit with Franco helps Laura put the pieces together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not for profit. No claim of ownership of characters.

Franco turned the television off when he heard a knock on the front door. He hadn't been paying attention anyway.

"Laura, how are you?" he asked, when he opened the door and saw who the visitor was. "Um, Elizabeth isn't here right now." He moved to the side so she could walk inside.

"I know," Laura told him. She slipped her coat off and he took it and hung it up for her. "I came to see you."

He did a poor job of hiding his surprised expression. "Is anything wrong?"

Laura went to the couch and motioned for him to join her. "Of course something is wrong. You just buried your daughter."

Franco felt uncomfortable and overexposed and looked away. "She wasn't really my daughter."

Laura sighed. "Yes, she was. In her heart and in your heart and that's what matters."

He nodded quietly, afraid that if he responded with words, he might start crying. He had stayed home from work because he just couldn't deal with helping people while his heart was so heavy with grief.

"I  wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss," Laura continued.

He nodded and choked out, "Thanks." He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

"She was a sweet, wonderful, brave girl."

Franco smiled. "Eventually," he laughed a little bit. "She had a few hell-raising years too." He fondly remembered her wild, free spirit and how she was a shining light in his life, even when she didn't seem to have any direction in her own.

"Teenagers," Laura chuckled.

"Twenty-somethings," Franco added, also laughing.

"That's what you need," Laura told him. "Remember the good times. And the bad times that don't look quite so bad with the passage of time. It's okay to talk about her, to think about her, and what could have been, and what should have been."

"You've been talking to Elizabeth," he concluded.

"She loves you. She's worried about you. She said you're putting up a wall, trying to be strong. You don't want her or the boys to see how badly you're hurting."

"The boys, mostly," Franco acknowledged. "Elizabeth has seen me broken before."

"Don't hide from the boys," Laura encouraged him. "They love you. You're the most stable father figure they have ever had. And I say that as the mother of one of the missing dads."

"That's kind of you," he told her, surprised and grateful for her words and for her acceptance of him in their lives. "I'm not trying to take anyone's place. But I'll always take care of those kids like they were my own, as long as they'll let me, anyway."

"Like you did for Kiki," Laura said. "Did you hide your emotions from her?"

"She was older... and yes, there were things I hid from her because I didn't want to distract her into worrying about me."

"You're a good dad, Franco. Take some credit."

"I didn't protect her in the end. Even Ava--" he shook his head. Laura didn't want to hear about Ava.

"Ava what?" Laura prodded. "It's okay."

"The morning I found out, I went to see her. She told me if we had raised Kiki together , she would be fine. Even with our dysfunctional family, I would have kept her safe. I guess I regret something that never happened. She might be wrong. I might have hurt them when I had the tumor. Or they might have realized something was wrong with me and maybe I would have had surgery a lot sooner than I did and not hurt people. No one knew me well enough to notice any changes in my personality. I don't know. Life is weird. I don't want to be anywhere but here with Elizabeth and the kids. I just want Kiki to be here too."

Laura nodded. "Life is weird, no doubt. I guess most of us start out with a plan and then take a lot of detours."

"Do you want a drink or something?" Franco asked. "I should have offered when you got here. I just was distracted."

Laura sighed. "You know what? I think a glass of wine would be perfect right now. Is it late enough in the afternoon to break out the good stuff?"

"It is somewhere," he smiled. "Be right back."

Laura relaxed for the first time in a while. It was nice to be in this home where there were people who loved her and no constant reminders of her failed marriage, other than Ava's name being brought up now and then. She took the glass of wine Franco offered her and took a sip. "Yes, I needed this."

"It's been a rough time for you since you came back," Franco led.

"It hasn't been what I expected at all," she admitted. She realized an answer might be right in front of her. "Maybe you can help me understand--why would Kevin leave me for Ava? No offense." She realized she was questioning his taste in women as well.

Franco was momentarily dumbstruck. "I don't get it," he answered honestly. "I thought I knew Kevin fairly well and Ava... Ava and Kevin? I can't understand that. He's more about balance, peace, forgiving yourself, personal growth." He paused, mulling it over. "Ava is not balanced. She's volatile. She's fire and danger. She repeats the same mistakes over and over. She's self-centered, vengeful. Passionate. Confident. But she lost her confidence when she was burned in the fire. She's vain and her looks have always worked to her advantage. It crushed her that Griffin cheated on her with Kiki. I bet it made her feel older, undesirable, less that the royalty she sees in herself. It doesn't make sense to me. She was seeing Kevin as a patient. He encouraged her to express her rage, like it was a safe space. But--and I am an outsider--it almost looked like he was enamored with that side of her, the danger and vengefulness. She told me he had to stop seeing her as a patient because he had developed feelings for her. That's unethical. A therapist can't start a relationship with a patient. The therapist has an unfair advantage, a misbalance of power." He looked up and Laura was studying him. "Am I talking too much?"

"Absolutely not," Laura answered immediately. "You're probably the only person in this town who really knows Ava and really knows Kevin. You're probably the only person who can help me."

"Kevin is my doctor, first. But we sort of crossed those lines too in that he talked to me about his past and his brother Ryan because Ryan and I came from similar life experience and both became killers. He wanted to understand Ryan through me, to some extent. The major difference is I did have a brain tumor. Ryan acted on his rage and pain because of psychosis. I acted on my rage and pain because I had repressed everything, but the tumor interfered with self-regulation. I lost the ability to understand what was real or fantasy, what was right or wrong, good or bad. I couldn't control impulses and became obsessive. I wasn't always that person. I lost touch with reality. Ryan--he stifled his reasoning. He cut himself off from reality, or maybe he couldn't feel because the pain was so overwhelming that he had to feel nothing. Feeling nothing let him murder his mother and those other women without guilt. Of course, I never met Ryan, but I think he would be Ava's type." Franco had become so lost in expressing his thoughts that he had sort of wandered into his own world. He stopped, realized he was talking to--or at--Laura. He looked up.

Laura was watching him intensely and there were tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Sometimes you have to tell me to shut up. Please, don't cry." He grabbed some tissues from a box on the end table and passed them to her.

Laura dabbed her eyes. "I'm not crying for me," she told him softly. She could tell from his expression that he was confused. "I had no idea that you had suffered like Ryan."

"Oh," Franco was surprised himself. He had been rambling, but hadn't given thought to giving his thoughts on Kevin, Ryan, and Ava would reveal his own past. "I... I didn't mean to," he stammered. "I'm sorry."

Laura reached for his hand. "It's okay," she told him. "You've been so kind and open and it's really helping me get a different perspective on Kevin. He doesn't talk to me about Ryan. I had no idea how it still bothered him, that he would still try to understand his brother after all this time."

"He felt guilty," Franco told her. "I know you know that. He was taken from that environment and Ryan was left." He looked up, eye to eye with Laura. "I don't understand that. Kevin's father protected him and left Ryan with the person who was abusing him. Betsy protected Drew and--" he stopped. "I was the bad kid too, like Ryan." His voice quivered a bit. "How does a parent pick one twin over another to keep safe? Why was Ryan left in hell? Why did Betsy keep me in hell instead of keeping me and Drew safe and making that monster leave? I know. I know Ryan died wondering why his father didn't love him as much as Kevin and why Kevin was worth protecting and he wasn't."

Franco continued, just spilling everything to  Laura because she seemed to actually care. "You know, that's why I hated Jason, because he was the one that got to escape. Except that it wasn't Jason. It was Drew. And he really wasn't my twin. He was Jason's twin. Yeah, it gets really messed up. I had two crazy mothers. One sold me to the other. I might have been better off if they left me in the woods for wolves to raise."

"You're fine the way you are," Laura assured him.

"That's kind. Not true. But kind."

"You got here eventually. You took a few detours."

He shrugged.

"I don't know if it matters coming from me, but no loving parent would protect one child and let the other be abused."

Franco cringed. He still couldn't get over the sting of that word or that it was attached to him. "Please don't tell anyone. Elizabeth, Drew, Kevin, and Scotty are the only people who know. I never even told Kiki."

She nodded. "Thank you for trusting me."

"You know, I actually just kind of lost track of my filter. But I appreciate that you've been kind about it."

"You haven't experienced much kindness in your life, have you?"

"That's just life," he shrugged again.

"Yeah, it's life. And it's unfair. Honestly, besides Kevin, you're the only person I've ever known who has thought of Ryan as a person. I guess when you don't understand the history, it's hard to see past the horrible things he did." 

"I'm not a Ryan apologist," Franco clarified. "I just kind of understand how he got were he did. I was horrible too. I don't even know that person. I don't think anything Ryan did was justifiable. By some saving grace, I actually had a medical reason for my insanity. Otherwise, they should have thrown me in Ferncliff or put me in front of a firing squad."

"You're self-aware, at least," Laura tried to make him smile. "Most people won't acknowledge their own faults."

"It's the only way to change and to grow. I have to acknowledge that part of myself, even if I hate him, because that's the only way to make sure he never comes back. I guess. Maybe. I'm not sure. Kiki, Elizabeth, and Kevin have all been so important to me. Laura, Kevin is a good person and he's a great therapist. Something has changed. Something is not right. He's not the Kevin any of us know--not just you. Scotty hates Kevin and even he says he was surprised he would do that to you."

"I'm glad it's not just me. I'm not the only one wondering where is the real Kevin Collins?"

"Not at all."

"Do you think it has to do with all this talk of Ryan that has happened recently?"

"Maybe. I don't know whose stupid idea that was, but Ryan shouldn't be remembered. It's like celebrating evil. It's sick. It is probably what triggered this new killer to start his reign of terror. Now Kiki's dead. Kevin has gone off the deep end. If Ryan wasn't known to be dead, I'd think he'd taken over Kevin's life."

"What did you say?" Laura asked.

"Sorry. I was rambling again. I do that when I have a captive audience."

"No. What if Ryan isn't dead?"

"Didn't he die in a fire?"

"There was no body recovered."

Franco tilted his head, suddenly even more interested. "No body? Nothing?"

"Is that significant?"

"Yes. Even when a body is burned it's nearly impossible to destroy everything. There would have likely at least been charred long bones like the femur left in the fire site."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I learned that in college, by the way, not through experience. I took a lot of science and anatomy courses. I thought about going pre-med. Plus, anatomy helps you learn to recreate a human likeness on a canvas."

"You were going to be a doctor?"

 Franco laughed. "You know there's a saying in psychology: there's a fine line between a surgeon and a serial killer. If there was no body...

"Is there any way at all that Ryan could have gotten out alive? And if he did, where has he been for the last 25 years?"

"I think I'm going to find out," Laura stood, determined to get to the bottom of this possibility.

"Laura, wait," Franco stood too. "Don't confront Kevin with any of this. If, by any chance, he is Ryan, he will kill you. And I do know that from experience. Go to the police. Don't be stupid."

 

"I was going to find Kevin," she admitted.

 

Franco shook his head. "Nope." He grabbed his jacket, gave Laura her coat and took his car keys off a hook by the door. "Come on. I'll take you to the police station. You're not going to be alone. Maybe they can at least pull the old case files on Ryan and the fire."

 

Laura threw her arms around him and hugged him. It was awkward at first, but he hugged her back. It almost felt like hugging a mother.

 

"Elizabeth finally got it right," she said. "Come on. What are we waiting for?"

  

 

\--Potential End? I could probably add to this if there's interest.--

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Now that we’re here, how are we going to convince Jordan Ashford to take us seriously?” Franco asked Laura. “We came based on a harebrained remark I made.” 

Laura was on a mission and more convinced that Kevin was missing and Ryan was alive. “Stop that!” Laura told him. “You’re intelligent and you see things from a different perspective. The police already came to you once for advice.”

“Which Kevin talked me out of pursuing further...” Franco said, realizing that only added weight to the theory. “He said I had to protect myself.”

Laura shook her head. “And he convinced me to run for mayor to get me out of his way.”

“And made it sound like it was for you and he was supporting your needs?” Franco asked.

“Yes. Exactly.”

“He’s a manipulative son of a bitch. I bet he introduce the malware that threw the election to keep you occupied further.”

“It’s possible,” Laura agreed, though she thought the culprit was a bit younger.

Jordan entered her office and sat down. “Thank you for waiting for me.” She had to take care of a minor problem before she saw them.

“We have information about the killer,” Laura stated.

“A theory,” Franco corrected. “Just a theory.”

“We will gladly entertain all theories at this point,” Jordan told them.

“We think it’s possible that Kevin is actually Ryan and he somehow has taken over Kevin’s life,” Laura told her.

Hearing it spoken to another person, Franco thought it sounded ridiculous—  even coming from Laura. He cringed; he talked too much.

“Ryan Chamberlain is dead,” Jordan said. She was clearly disappointed with their theory since it seemed to contradict known facts.

“Presumed dead,” Laura corrected her. “There was no body recovered. We would like the Ryan files re-examined.” It was a demand, not a request.

Jordan remained composed. “OK, first tell me why you think Ryan is alive.”

“Kevin has lost his mind,” Franco answered. “We are putting together some pieces and it seem to fit.”

“Like what?”

“Remember when you asked me to help profile the killer? I told Kevin I wanted to do it. Kevin is a medical doctor and he has been adamant that the brain tumor caused my dark period of behavior. He has consistently helped me and reminded me to acknowledge the changes I’ve made. Then when I told him I wanted to help find the killer, he changed his tune. He said I didn’t need to involve myself in these things. He went from telling me I was healthy to telling me I wasn’t. And is not the only thing he’s done a 180 about in therapy. He’s not Kevin.”

“What else has changed?” Jordan asked. This was intriguing.

“Um, I think that part is irrelevant to this case, maybe,” Franco answered.

Jordan turned to Laura. “What else is different about Kevin?”

“He came to visit me in Europe and we had a wonderful time. He was loving, romantic. Everything was normal and we were happy. When I came home, he went out of his way to avoid me. He wouldn’t kiss me. He wouldn’t even sleep in the same bed. He also talked me into running for mayor because it would keep me busy. He has snapped at me and even threatened me and tried to cover it.”

“He also was seeing Ava Jerome as a patient, but ended the professional relationship to pursue a personal relationship,” Franco added. “He encouraged her to express her rage toward Kiki and Griffin. Ava thought it was reverse psychology because she realized she wouldn’t hurt Kiki. But if Kevin is Ryan and Ryan is fixated on Ava and her rage toward Kiki...” Franco trailed off, letting Jordan fill in the blanks. 

Jordan thought their theory was credible enough that she continued to ask questions. “But if Kevin is Ryan, where is Kevin?”

“I assume he’s wherever Ryan was,” Laura said.

“Ferncliff!” Franco exclaimed. “Kevin works at Ferncliff. That connects him to Mary Pat. She would certainly have known if Dr. Collins’ twin was a patient in maximum-security.”

“You work at Ferncliff,” Jordan said to Franco. “Have you ever seen anything suspicious?”

“I don’t work with patients in solitary confinement.”

“But when Carly was there, there was someone in the room next to her sending Morse code messages for help. When Carly and I tried to find out who that patient was, Kevin was there and he absolutely insisted we know nothing about the patient. Eventually Carly found out his last name was Wilson.” Laura told them about her trip to Ferncliff. 

“Wilson?” Jordan asked. “For some reason that rings a bell. Hold on a moment.” She did several searches of databases only law-enforcement were allowed to access.

Laura and Franco exchanged looks. This was making more sense than they had imagined it would. The pieces were actually falling together in a way that made sense, at least in Port Charles where the dead often did not stay that way. 

Jordan was startled. “Oh my god. Tom Wilson was an alias of Ryan Chamberlain.”

“We have to very discreetly find out if Kevin is Kevin,” Franco told them, “If Kevin—or Ryan—gets an inkling that we’re closing in on this, he will kill whoever is convenient. That might be Ava or someone at the hospital.” 

“How do you suggest we do that?” Jordan asked.

“You’re the police commissioner,” Laura reminded her. “Don’t you have any ideas?”

Jordan looked a little embarrassed, which she probably should have. 

Franco spoke up. “I can have a session with Kevin and talk endlessly about Ryan. If he’s Ryan, his ego will come out with the attention. We may get an idea of where Kevin is or what’s going on with Ryan if he’s Ryan.” 

“You’re putting yourself in harm’s way,” Laura told him. “You have too much to lose. Maybe I can have a conversation with him.”

“I can protect myself,” Franco answered. “If he killed my daughter, I want to take him down. But if he is Ryan, he will go after my family. You have to protect them. I want Elizabeth and the boys to have a protective guard.”

“I want the same for Lulu, Rocco, and Charlotte.” Laura realized the true danger of what they were potentially getting themselves into. She had no intention of not being there with the police while Franco tried to flush out Ryan’s secrets. If he was willing to take the risk, so was she. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry updates have taken so long. Winter has been brutal for me. I haven’t been “well” since November. I have lots of stuff written and haven’t had the energy to type it. I hope you’re still out there & still interested!

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote more to this story, but was too sick all winter to get it typed to post. So, since I am behind the show, I will leave this as a one shot. Thanks for reading.


End file.
